


Swipe Me Off My Feet

by len1985



Category: Berena - Fandom, Holby City
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 12:15:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13524054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/len1985/pseuds/len1985
Summary: This is my Tinder AU. I've never used a dating app so any mistakes (of which I hope there are few) are entirely my own.This was meant to be a one-shot but here we appear to be....





	Swipe Me Off My Feet

It was safe to say that Bernie didn't have a fucking clue what she was doing, as she glanced at her phone with a look of abject terror on her face. She knew it had been a horrible idea to agree to let her friends set her up with a Tinder account and yet, somehow, here she was. “It's so simple” they said. “I got loads of matches” they said. What they hadn't said was that she would have precisely no matches after swiping the wrong way for the first week. She had thought they said “left for like and right for reject,” that at least made sense to her. She still couldn't fathom what the ‘swipe up' was for. Although, swiping right had wrought no greater success rate. The one woman she'd matched with had had to politely message her that she too had swiped incorrectly (‘possibly an age thing’ the woman had quipped, with some attempt at humour, making Bernie feel old and out of touch) and that while Bernie ‘seemed nice’, she hadn't meant to ‘swipe right’ for her. She hadn't known until that moment that she had assumed it impossible to die of mortification when the person wasn't even in the same room. Or the same town if her profile was any indication. And now her phone pinged that someone had swiped right for her and she was too scared to unlock her phone and check the notification.

  
Serena had realised her attraction to women later in life. Once her marriage to Edward had ended with him shagging everything that moved, she had become aware of this side to herself. She started to notice other women and had to admit her attraction to some of them. It was almost as if a switch had been flipped and now she felt undeniable stirrings of longing when she thought of being intimate with another woman. There was suddenly something appealing about the promise of soft curves and smooth skin. It had never occurred to her to look at women this way, but once it did, she saw the possibility of being in a relationship with a woman and she liked the idea very much. When her daughter had presented her with the Tinder profile that she had created on her behalf, the reality had been like a punch to the gut. Could she really do this? Date another woman? Would another woman want to date her? As she tried to focus on not thinking that Elinor could have chosen more flattering photos of her (she didn't even know when she'd taken them, truth be told...) and wondering what in the world ‘sapiosexual' meant and if she was it, she had tried to navigate how the app worked.

Ellie's instructions were baffling and she had anxiously awaited this illusive ‘match' for 10 days before the young woman had told her, in a tone akin to exasperation, that she had to swipe right for the same woman who had also swiped right for her in order to start chatting to one of them. Now here she was staring at the photos of a woman around her age, with a mass of blonde hair that she supposed was meant to be curly, if it was ever brushed. At first glance the woman perhaps shouldn't be attractive, but she was unconventionally striking with her long nose and strong jaw. However, it was the eyes that captured Serena. She couldn't see them fully under the wild fringe, but they were hypnotising. It felt as if this woman was looking deep into her soul and Serena had to admit that she could look at those eyes all day. ‘Bernie, 52' the profile said. Nothing else. Her finger swiped right almost of its own accord and she felt the anticipation of a potential match make her stomach somersault.

  
Bernie had to google ‘sapiosexual’ when she'd first seen ‘Serena, 52' on her phone screen:

  
“Adjective - (of a person) finding intelligence sexually attractive or arousing.

  
Noun - a person who finds intelligence sexually attractive or arousing.”

  
That didn't make things much clearer, but Bernie was intrigued by the brunette. She didn't seem to be cognizant of her photo being taken in the pictures of her. This candid glimpse of the woman made her look so open and free. Her bright smile was magnetic and there was a spark hinting at cheeky challenge in the depth of kind, warm eyes. Bernie was hooked. She knew nothing would come of it as she moved her thumb across the screen, but she could live in hope.

  
Serena had never expected to be matched with the blonde whose gorgeous eyes had captivated her, so much so that she nearly dropped her phone when it happened. Elinor had been certain that medical attention might be needed when she had come home from uni, to find her mother almost catatonic, and had needed to pry the phone from Serena's hand to discover the source of the brunette’s shock. After a determined and convincing argument from her daughter, Serena had little option but to message this ‘Bernie’ or risk Ellie doing it for her.

  
‘Hello. It appears that we seem to have been matched. I'm Serena. This Tinder is all new to me, my daughter talked me into it! Have you ever done this kind of thing before?’ She sent the message, hoping it sounded alright and that Bernie wouldn't take as long to reply as the only other match she'd received. After a couple of back and forth messages, she hadn't heard from ‘Emily, 47' again...

  
Bernie held her phone at arm's length, as if it wasn't to be trusted. She had a message from the beautiful brunette that they had matched. Serena’s message was non-threatening enough, but not overly friendly, and Bernie thought maybe it had happened again as she replied:

  
‘Did you swipe right for me by mistake?’

  
Serena read the response from the blonde with a puzzled frown.

  
S: Excuse me?

  
B: It's ok. It has happened already. One other lady didn't mean to swipe right for me either... No harm done.

  
Serena's heart clenched with disappointment.

  
S: It wasn't a mistake. Unless, you swiped right for me by mistake. Did you?

  
Bernie gripped her phone more tightly as her eyes widen and her mouth dropped open in surprise. It hadn't been a mistake, this Serena had chosen to swipe right for her. She was seized with sudden panic as she struggled with how to proceed.

  
B: I'm so sorry. Let's start over. I'm Bernie and, yes, I did mean to swipe right for you.

Serena sighed in relief as Bernie's answer came through.

  
S: Hi Bernie. That's good. I'm not sure how this whole Tinder things works to be honest with you.

  
B: You aren't the only one!

  
S: So, what happens now?

  
B: I'm not sure...

  
Serena feels the first wave of anxiety hit as she reads the screen and turns her head away sharply, a sting of foolish embarrassment colouring her cheeks. Perhaps she wasn't what Bernie was looking for after all. The thought made her sadder than she had expected, to be rejected by a perfect stranger. Her eyes dart back to her phone at the ping of another notification.

  
B: Maybe we just chat a bit and see how we get on??

  
Serena's face almost splits in two from grinning so hard at the words.

  
S: Yes, I think I'd like that.

  
B: Alright then. Me too.

  
S: Looking forward to getting to know you better x

  
Bernie recognises a stirring of something close to giddy excitement as she taps out her reply and feels invincible for the rest of that week, after seeing the ‘x' on the screen at the end of all Serena's message since. Maybe Tinder wasn't so bad after all...


End file.
